, 1887-07-03
HOW COMETS ARE FOUND.
A Work which Requires Much Patience
and PerseverRnoe-Tho Instruments.

A Work Which Requires Much Patience
and Instruments.
Professor E. E. Barnard, the astrono-
mer of the Vanderbilt University, was
asked the other day how comets are
found.
Besides a knowledge of astronomy
and a telescope" was his reply, 1.-THE
comet seeker must have u large stock of
patience and perseverance,"
"But will you not tell me how you
do it?"
Then, pleasantly, as Mr.. Barnard al
ways does things, he showed his instru-
ments of observation, the while talking of
his work in a most entertaining way.
But before making an effort to repeat the
substance of chow q comet is sought"
the reporter would say a word about the
''tools" with which the
works.
In the low, solidly built, spherical
rooted observatory are three telescopes.
Each of these is on foundations of stone.
set upon the solid rock far down in tho
ground. One is immovable, except in a
single direction. 1t is hung between two
massive posts of stone and metal, so as to
sweep a narrow strip of sky from north
to south. This is used for watching the
stars cross the meridian and regulate the
time. Another, and larger one, which is
used for comet seeking, is hung upon q
pivot, SO as to urn in any and all pos
sible directions, and that by the slightest
possible movement. Attached to this are
various ingenious devices for controlling
and regulating its movements. The dome
of the low tower in which this instrument
is placed is movable, and is turned in any
direction by means of very simple and
easily managed mechanism.
One of the most intelligent and useful
of the many instruments in the observa-
tory is the ~chronograph. This is an in
genious little machine, run by clock
work, and which, by means of electric
connections, the observer can note the
exact time, to the hundreth Fart Of O ecc-
ond, that q star crosses the meridian.
The working of this cannot well be CO.
scribed. In the same room are the diff
ferent clocks by which the various times
are kept for the regulations of the tower
clock. While these instruments are be-
ing shown and their uses explained, the
astronomer gave the information about
comet seeking, which the reporter gives
below. The reader would be much more
pleased with the story just as it was told
by Mr.. Barnard, if he could get it that
way-which he cannot.
Comet seeking requires more patience
n perseverance than the average reader
would be aware of. No one can tell
whether a comet is anywhere visible in
the sky, &c the patient searcher begins to
examine the heavens in hopes that he
may discover one of these wanderers as
it steals in from the depths of space on
its pilgrimage to the sun. There is a
strong intuition that the region near the
u will more likely yield a comet, SC
that the comet searcher pays special at
tention mornings and evenings to that
region. This is natural, because comets
being non-luminous masses of gas, they
are very faint, or only become visible
when they have approached compare
lively near the sun.
They should therefore be more likely
to be found when SO placed, yet this rule
is not infallible, inasmuch as in the past
few years quite as many if not more
comets ave been found in that part of tho
sky opposite the sun or in fact distributed
equally all over the heavens. But these
are all faint and require close searching
and diligence on the part of the Gomez
seeker.
Wnen IL Is known u 1T IN one part or
the sky that can be examined at any mo-
ment by the seGrcher's telescope can
readily be blotted out by the end of the
little finger held at arms length, and the
vastness Of the heavens that is spread out
for him to examine, and the knowledge
that the old saying, "hunting for a
needle in n haystack," is infinitely too
feeble in comparison with the chances Of
finding one of these faint wandering
masses of fog is taken into account, one
is prepared to realize the forlorn hope
with which the comet seeker begins his
labors and easily explains why so many
undertake it and give it up without
having recorded one comet. The more
the comet seeker prepares himself with
the knowledge of the vast chances
against his success the more certain he is
t succeed.-New York Graphic.